James Laurinaitis adds overdue honor to his already impressive Buckeyes resumé

The most decorated linebacker ever at Ohio State's receives the ultimate nod for a stellar career.

Oct 11, 2008; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker James Laurinaitis (33) in action against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images | Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

When going through the history of the greatest linebackers to have ever played college football, it's hard to miss Ohio State's James Laurinaitis.

The National Football Foundation and the the College Football Hall of Fame agree.

Laurinaits has been announced by the NFF and College Football Hall of Fame as part of its 2026 Class.

One of the most reliable defenders in @OhioStateFB history, @JLaurinaitis55 is a 2026 NFF College Football Hall of Fame electee. pic.twitter.com/J82nGgCoEn

— National Football Foundation (@NFFNetwork) January 14, 2026

Wednesday’s news makes Laurinaitis the 29th former Buckeye player to be enshrined into the NFF and College Football Hall of Fame, and the fourth linebacker for Ohio State to be recognized by the institution. It was his seventh year in a row on the ballot.

Laurinaitis’ credentials are impossible to debate. One of only three-time All-Americans in Ohio State history, he played 51 games for the Buckeyes from 2005 to 2008 under head coach Jim Tressel, including 40 starts.

Laurinaits was a recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Award (2006) the Butkus Award (2007) and the Lott IMPACT Trophy (2008), in addition to being named the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year twice (2008 and 2007).

During his time in Columbus, Ohio State went 4-0 against Michigan, won 43 games, and appeared in two consecutive BCS National Championship Games. Laurinaitis -- who set the BCS championship game record with 18 tackles against LSU in 2007 -- was inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.

After his stellar run with the Buckeyes, Laurinaitis was drafted in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft (35th overall) by the then St. Louis Rams. He played middle linebacker for the Rams for eight seasons, capping off a nine-year NFL career with a final campaign with the New Orleans Saints in 2016. Laurinaitis surpassed the 100 combined tackle mark in each of his eight years with St. Louis, and led the league in solo stops in 2012 with 117.

Laurinaitis, along with Tom Cousineau, Chris Spielman and Randy Gradishar are the only former Buckeye linebackers in the College Football Hall of Fame, though he could eventually be joined by one of his pupils.

Laurinaitis has been Ohio State’s linebacker coach since 2024, where he has overseen the development of big-time players such as Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Cody Simon. Reese and Styles just made school history by becoming the first pair of linebackers receiving first-team All-American honors in the same season. Both are expected to be selected very high in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Jerry Azumah, Ki-Jana Carter, Bruce Collie, George Cumby, Aaron Donald, Marvin Harrison, Garrison Hearst, Chris Hudson, Mark Ingram, Olin Kreutz, Jordan Lynch, Herman Moore, Terence Newman, Bob Novogratz, Ndamukong Suh, Peter Warrick, Eric Weddle, are the other 17 players joining Laurinaitis as part of the ‘26 College Football Hall of Fame Class. Former coaches Jim Margraff, Gary Patterson, Chris Petersen and Ken Sparks will also be enshrined.

The 2026 College Football Hall of Fame Class induction ceremony will take place at the 68th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 8 in Las Vegas. The College Football Hall of Fame is located in Atlanta.